Pluribus
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 9 of 60 TV series by recommenders
Recommended for its philosophical take on AI and its strong, beautifully shot sci-fi storytelling. Critics find the pacing slow and some episodes padded with filler.
Recommended for its philosophical take on AI and its strong, beautifully shot sci-fi storytelling. Critics find the pacing slow and some episodes padded with filler.
36 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 29
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 81%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 29 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Excellent, sci-fi show overall
“It is astoundingly good. A contender for the best show I've ever seen”
Comment from 5 Aug 2026 in “Gwern reties from fulltime writing to launch Guardian Angel Inc” “really it's an excellent show in general, just really good”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “Netflix: Open Content” “I also quite like Pluribus, it feels like actual sci-fi”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros” - Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “Marriage over, €100k down; AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion”
AI metaphor and parable
“what a great metaphor it is for living surrounded by humans using AI to think and write for them”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Atlassian to cut roughly 1,600 jobs in pivot to AI” “I understood Pluribus as a metaphor for what AI is to us today”
Comment from 5 Aug 2026 in “Gwern reties from fulltime writing to launch Guardian Angel Inc” “I think it's still a very stimulating AI parable despite that.”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “The Future of Everything Is Lies, I Guess: Culture” - Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “Marriage over, €100k down; AI users whose lives were wrecked by delusion”
Smart, philosophical, character-driven storytelling
“Pluribus has no filler. Sure: the plot moves slowly, the cinematography is artsy and sedate, and it's all very character-driven. So what? It's beautiful.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” “very slow burning, philosophical kind of show which I found very smart”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Tell HN: Merry Christmas!” “Pluribus is a more interesting meditation.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “The era of jobs is ending” Beautifully shot visuals
“Pluribus has no filler. Sure: the plot moves slowly, the cinematography is artsy and sedate, and it's all very character-driven. So what? It's beautiful.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” “The show is shot very well.”
Comment from 1 Dec 2025 in “Amazon faces FAA probe after delivery drone snaps internet cable in Texas”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Forgettable filler across episodes
“I liked the concept and what they did with it, but there's way too much forgettable filler that dilutes it into a slog”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis” “There were several segments that were clearly just filler”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” Bland, sanitized, unoriginal feel
“Even Pluribus has that smug sanitized gloss.”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros” “They are bland and unoriginal.”
Comment from 24 Jun 2026 in “Inventing the Future, One Lisp Machine at a Time” Not worth watching for some
“I regret watching that series, it was immensely disappointing.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” “Pluribus is not worth it, if you wondered.”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Things and Stuff of 2025”
Other TV series people recommend
The four most recommended other TV series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halt and Catch Fire | 166 | 20 | 89% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Babylon 5 | 86 | 21 | 80% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Silicon Valley (TV series) | 52 | 1 | 98% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Andor | 52 | 5 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| PluribusThis page | 29 | 7 | 81% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
30 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“pretty typical lack of popular imagination”
“Though I found the pacing questionable - there were (generously) 6 episodes worth of plot spread out over a 9-episode season.”
“I understood Pluribus as a metaphor for what AI is to us today”
“It is astoundingly good. A contender for the best show I've ever seen”
“If you liked this, also check our Pluribus.”
“They are bland and unoriginal.”
“Severance, Silo, Pluribus just off the top of my head.”
“the premise of the show sounds great”
“I think it's still a very stimulating AI parable despite that.”
“May I recommend Pluribus (2025-)”
“the joining is an excellent metaphor for AI”
“Very good; highly recommend”
“I liked the concept and what they did with it, but there's way too much forgettable filler that dilutes it into a slog”
“what a great metaphor it is for living surrounded by humans using AI to think and write for them”
“We just finished S01. Also pretty good.”
“Pluribus didn't solve poker. It's limited to fixed starting stack sizes.”
“I extremely doubt anything in there is filler.”
“I regret watching that series, it was immensely disappointing.”
“Pluribus has no filler. Sure: the plot moves slowly, the cinematography is artsy and sedate, and it's all very character-driven. So what? It's beautiful.”
“There were several segments that were clearly just filler”
“There are some great scenes in Pluribus, which illustrate this ignorance very well.”
“the artist accomplished what they wanted to in the context of the show”
“Pluribus is not worth it, if you wondered.”
“really it's an excellent show in general, just really good”
“I'm finding it borderline impossible to keep up without them”
“very slow burning, philosophical kind of show which I found very smart”
“Pluribus is a more interesting meditation.”
“I also quite like Pluribus, it feels like actual sci-fi”
“Even Pluribus has that smug sanitized gloss.”
“The show is shot very well.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.